


Drowned Dream

by TheObnoxiousWindFish



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Gen, Spoilers for Link’s Awakening, Spoilers for Wind Waker, talk of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24481984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheObnoxiousWindFish/pseuds/TheObnoxiousWindFish
Summary: King Daphnes and Marin cope with the end in different ways.
Relationships: King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule & Marin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Drowned Dream

“ _Fade away, in the grey, of an unknown dream..._ ”

King Daphnes pauses, the lyrics of the tune reacting his ears. He comes to a full stop, hovering above the ground, and lets himself close his eyes. He's never heard this song before, yet all the same, it resonates within his soul in a particular fashion that makes his heart tighten. 

" _Where the sea, swallows me, in the stream..._ "

As King Daphnes floats in place, a memory comes to mind. Something from a long, long time ago, when his beard was a different color and his figure a little slimmer. It's been so long since he thought of it, yet...

" _Please never forget... the adventure and the dreams we had... I'll fade, it is my fate... Farewell, dear hero..._ "

\---

_It was far into the morning. The Queen of Hyrule had gone into labor earlier that night, and much to the protest of the midwives, King Daphnes steeled himself for the blood and stayed in the room. He stayed standing, out of the way, holding her hand the whole time. He remembers how tightly she squeezed, how he remembers thinking after everything was said and done, he'd tease her for breaking his hand. He remembers the room, their bedroom, all set up for their daughter's birth. The purple sheets, the wedding portrait on the wall, the stone floors and glass windows. He remembers the midwives, they had been loyally serving Daphnes's family for years and he rewarded them and the rest of Hyrule at any chance he could get - they deserved the praise for all the things they had to do, after all. However, his clearest memory of that day was when his wife looked straight at him, holding his hand, and nodded. They were going to make it through this._

_After what felt like hours longer, finally, according to the midwives, the baby's head finally was pushed free. They helped pull the child out, and his wife, for the first time since she started, finally let go of his hand. She started to laugh, in relief, and Daphnes remembers laughing with her - it was over. The midwives cleaned the baby off, and sure enough, she started crying. A healthy, wonderful, baby girl._

_King Daphnes wasn't one for tears, but if he teased his wife for breaking his hand, she can tease him for crying. The baby was swaddled, and given to his wife, and Daphnes wipes at his eyes. His wife's crying too, of course, but that was expected. He leans over, looking his daughter in the face for the first time, and smiles. She opens her eyes, seeing her mother and father, then promptly nods off. The queen laughs, jabbing at him that she'll be a lazy one, and King Daphnes simply shakes his head. If anything, she'll be a perfect clone of her mother - just as kind, just as strong, just as beautiful._

_"Let me guess, you want to name her Zelda?" The queen asks, and King Daphnes does a half shrug, but the light hasn't left his face._

_"It is tradition to name royal daughters Zelda, you know." He banters back, and she just rolls her eyes._

_"... Fine, but her middle name is going to be Tetra."_

_"Tetra...? Why that name?"_

_"It's fierce and strong. Also, it was my mother's name. Felt it was appropriate."_

_"Princess Zelda Tetra Hyrule, hm?" Daphnes tugs on his beard as he pretends to think about it. "Yes. That will suit her perfectly."_

\---

... He hadn't thought about that day in so long. He hadn't thought about his _family_ in so long. Would they be proud of him? Would they have agreed with what he had done to protect everyone? His wife had died long before his choice, and after he sent his daughter with her guards to save themselves from the eventual flood....He never saw her again. The hero of Hyrule never came, after all. The Zelda that was his daughter died a long, long time ago, while his soul waited for the one to save Hyrule from its prison. Even then... Hyrule was destined to drown, wasn't it? The people will need to move to a different land, one not drowned, with the Triforce, and make a new home.

He didn't make the right choice, did he? He let so many drown... for what? To keep Ganon's demonic powers from taking away his home? Was he just being selfish, to make that choice...?

" _Let the light, be your guide, as you sail away..._ "

King Daphnes opens his eyes, and finds himself in tears for the first time in... so, so long. He hastily wipes them away with his sleeve. He thinks of the hylians, who knew of the tides and huddled onto arks. He dwells on the Koroki, who please the wind god, and the Zora, who please the earth god. He thinks of the Gorons, who were just happy to be around, and the Gerudo, who never saw the flood of their deserts coming. He thinks of Ganondorf's perspective, to know his people were killed by tidal waves, and for what?

Because Ganon would rule? Was this all just because of his pride?

" _I can make, and can take, a new day..._ "

... No, this questioning of his own self will do nothing. He had to stick to his choices. it's all he has, isn't it? 

He ought to find the source of the singing, anyway.

" _Away from the light - yes, this dream will have to end tonight... They'll fade... it is their fate... Farewell, brave hero..._ "

King Daphnes glances around, and turns towards to see a beach, just a few paces from where he stopped. The lull of the waves reminds him of his time helping the hero of the winds, and he pushes back his memories before he spends all day standing in a deep state of memory. He doesn't need to be reflecting on his life and after life right now, because he doesn't want to be so deeply dredged in his own mistakes. No wallowing. Never again - yet he catches himself doing exactly that every few weeks. He carefully floats forwards, the sail hovering at his back ready in case anything should decide he's easy pickings.

He may not be a reincarnation of the goddess, but he was of her blood, and he refuses to back down from conflict.

" _Friend of mine, it is time, to say our last goodbyes..._ "

This song is really out to make him think, isn't it? King Daphnes shakes his head, shrugging away more intrusive thoughts about his own mistakes and following the singing. The feeling in his hearts hasn't dissipated - in fact, getting closer to the singer only makes it intensify. His hearts begs him to remember, to remember his family, his friends, the time before he had to make the tough choices to protect what he could. It begs him to think well on his past, remember his life when he still had one.

He tells himself he'll do it later.

" _Hold my hand... Dearest friend... This dream dies..._ "

King Daphnes hovers closer to the beach, and to his surprise, he spots a young girl. She can't be older than fourteen, in a light blue dress, with red hair and tanned skin. She's staring into the sea, like it has all the answers, and if King Daphnes had to take a guess, she's the singer from before - she's sitting on a well placed log, hands in her lap, and King Daphnes figures she has no idea he's here. He approaches, and clears his throat once he thinks she's done.

"Oh!" The young girl turns to face him, but doesn't get off the log. She smiles brightly. "Hello! I thought I was alone, ehehe..." 

"It's quite alright, child." King Daphnes offers a smile, the same kind he'd offer when Link messed up a puzzle and needed guidance on how to solve it. "I assume that song was yours?"

"Yeah, it's very important to me." She says, and King Daphnes has been around people long enough to know when he's touched a sensitive topic. She rebounds quickly, and is smiling again. "I'm Marin! Nice to meet you!"

"I am..." He pauses. Not for dramatic effect, but because he's honestly debating if he should bust out the proper title. She doesn't seem like she'd know him, so he figures he'll worry about the royalty part later. "... Daphnes. It's nice to meet you, Miss Marin."

"You too!" Marin says, and Daphnes takes it as an invitation to float closer. He doesn't dare sit down without permission, but he does float near by and stare out to sea.

"... Where are you from, Mr. Daphnes?" Marin asks, and King Daphnes has a small memory of when the children used to call him Mr. King Daphnes. 

"I am from Hyrule, but my version isn't the same as everyone else's." He chooses his words carefully. "What about yourself?"

"I'm from Koholint!" Marin replies, a bit too cheerful. There's an elephant in the room, King Daphnes can feel it.

He dares to prod. "Koholint? Where is that?"

"... It doesn't actually exist, but if it did, it would probably be riiiiiight..." Marin closes one eye, then point out to sea with her left hand. "Over there. It's just a dream, though."

"... You are welcome to not reply, but... just a dream?" King Daphnes asks, and Marin scoots over a bit on the log, offering a place for him to sit.

"It's a long story, Mr. Daphnes, but if you have time, I guess I could tell you." Marin says, and King Daphnes doesn't hesitate to join her. It would be rude not to, after all.

"In that case, I will trade with you. Your story for mine." King Daphnes offers, and Marin offers her hand with a smile.

"You gotta deal!" She says, and King Daphnes reaches out to shake. To his dismay, her hand phases through his, and he deflates. Marin looks sympathetic. "Er, it counts."

King Daphnes politely sits on the log - though it was more hover over the log than instead of actually sit, but semantics are semantics. Marin clears her throat, and returns her hands to her lap.

"See, there's this thing called the Wind Fish. He's a pretty powerful creature, so when he falls asleep, anyone who falls asleep around him gets pulled into his dreams." Marin begins. "Well, Link happened to fall asleep near the Wind Fish and was pulled into his dream. That's how Koholint was made. I was there to help Link through his journey, to find the instruments to wake the Wind Fish from its nightmare and... well, if the Wind Fish wakes up..."

Marin makes a closed fist, then opens her hand quickly. "Poof! We're gone too."

King Daphnes nods his head, listening intently. 

"But... Even though, in my heart, I know it's a dream and when my Link wakes up when I return, I'll be gone... It's nice to have extra time to see all the things I will never get to." Marin admits, and looks for to King Daphnes with a smile. "Yeah, I'll be gone, but as long as Link remembers me? I'm still around."

King Daphnes pauses, and gives another nod of his head. "I... I suppose you are right, Miss Marin."

"Aw, you can quit it with the Miss! I'll never be that old." Marin attempts to brighten the mood again, and it gets a smile out of King Daphnes.

"... As you wish, then, Marin." King Daphnes's smile fades. "My story is a bit more complex, but... Long ago, Hyrule was a land above water. However, a evil that presented itself as Ganondorf appeared on the horizon. He wanted to take Hyrule for himself, and cast it into a realm of darkness over his own rule. However, the royal family has a secret - the Triforce, a powerful object that grants the wish of anyone who touches it. I knew what I was going to do, and I issued for all the races to get prepared for a flood. How many people this order reached, I don't know, but as Ganondorf attempted to take the Triforce, I wished for Hyrule to be drowned under the sea, until the chosen hero could finally destroy the evil and save the kingdom."

Marin's taking her turn to nod along, listening. King Daphnes isn't sure why he's spilling all of this to her, anyway. She told him, so it's only fair? but it sounds like he's just complaining. 

"I don't know how many people of how many races drowned in the sea. I don't know who died that day. But my hope to help the hero forced me to live on. Eventually, I took to hiding as a boat above the sea, in search of the hero who can free my kingdom." King Daphnes finishes, and sighs.

"... You really carry a lot on your shoulders, don't you?" Marin asks quietly.

"As a king, yes." King Daphnes offers her a sympathetic smile. "... But I know Hyrule will not surface. It is not the kingdom itself that will be saved - it is the people. I've made up my mind - when the day finally comes, I will tell the hero and the princess to take their powers and find a new Hyrule, and let mine drown in the sea."

Marin goes quite, and King Daphnes instantly regrets admitting that. He remains silent, trying to avoid staring, hoping that she isn't afraid or hurt by what he's implied will happen to him.

"... I guess I should be calling you King Daphnes, huh?" Marin asks, and King Daphnes shakes his head.

"It... doesn't matter now, I suppose. I don't really have a kingdom anymore. I called myself the King of Red Lions, but... even that was just to hide myself." King Daphnes admits, and there's another beat of silence.

"We're not too different, huh?" Marin finally asks. "We're both going into this knowing that we're not gonna come back out when it's done, right?"

King Daphnes takes a moment to reply. "... I suppose so."

"Then let's enjoy it while we got it! No point in moping until it's time to go." Marin says with a smile, hopping to her feet. King Daphnes isn't sure he meant to do so as well, but her ability to bounce back is infectious, and he's already feeling better. 

"You said you can turn into a boat, right? I've always wanted to ride on the ocean!" Marin cheers, and King Daphnes makes a face. 

"Er, yes. I suppose I can pay you back for listening to an old man complain with a boat ride or two." He replies, and Marin's eyes sparkle in delight.

"You gotta deal, Mr. Daphnes! How fast can you go?"

"Not to brag, but I did win many boating competitions back in my day - both before and after the flood..."

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics for The Ballad of the Wind Fish from this Version:
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fnKzcghUG6o


End file.
